Mostly, it was their pluck 
The Danville News
Robert John Andrews
Thursday, October 23, 2025
“Duty”
Word Count:  750

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Crispin may have made good shoes.  What he really made was a great martyr.  Correct that, he must have made good shoes.  He and his brother evidently made enough money as cobblers to support their ministry and give to the poor.  It’s not every day you can be designated the patron saint of cobblers.  

Despite us Protestants having a different take on sainthood (we don’t recognize saints as if they are members of some celestial hall of fame), I’ll give Crispin and brother Crispinian credit.  Although, I do wonder if their parents ran out of options for naming their twin sons.  Sure, let’s use the same name.  What motivated Saint Crispin and his brother?  To serve God that God’s people might live in the light of grace and goodness.  

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Saint Crispin inspires hope.  When your ministry is so effective that you annoy those in power so effectively they toss you into the river wearing millstones and then still have to behead you, you must be doing something right.  

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Despite some Vatican reshuffling of saint days, Crispin and his brother’s special day still is October 25.  But I’m guessing our commemoration of St. Crispin is better known, not for shoes, but for a speech in Shakespeare’s play, “Henry V.”  Act IV, scene 3.  On the morn of the Battle of Agincourt, October 25, 1415, King Henry’s motley English army is about to fight the vast French army, thick with French Knights on their chargers.  Henry rallies them with his famous speech:  “And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by, From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be rememberèd— We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; For he to-day that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,This day shall gentle his condition…”

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Facing frightful odds, they stood together, this band of brothers.  Honor and courage win the day.  A muddy field and longbows helped.  So did clever tactics.  Mostly, it was their pluck.  

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Friends, just do your duty and stand up for worthy cause.  Villains may revile you, but they never last.  Do your job and leave the rest up to God, thank you very much.  Wouldn’t that be refreshing?  We have only done what ought to be done.  What we are supposed to do.  That’s reward enough.

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Do we really think we should be applauded or rewarded or get extra credit for doing what we should, for what is expected?  Like the person who thinks they should be rewarded for returning someone’s lost wallet.  Do police officers anticipate a trophy for doing their job?  Or emergency workers in the middle of a Hurricane?  Does a soldier get a medal for doing his or her duty?  Has lack of decent manners become so prevalent we think we have to congratulate someone for having good manners, for being polite?  

 

Once upon a time a very holy man was given a bag of gold with the instruction he should give the money as a reward to someone for doing a very good deed. So the holy man dressed himself in beggar’s clothes and wandered the city, until he came to the door of a barbers shop.  At the same time a very important man of the city approached the same door and pushed himself in front of the holy man disguised as a beggar. The barber, seeing this, led the beggar instead to the chair first, ahead of the very important man.  He shaved him, cut his hair, and not only did the barber not charge the beggar for his services, he gave him a few coins so he could get a meal.  The holy man, impressed by this good deed, cast off his disguise and revealed himself to the barber.  With joy he presented him with the bag of gold, announcing he was asked to give it as a reward for a very good deed.  The holy man, expecting the barber to be pleased, was surprised when the barber refused the gold, saying: “What kind of holy man are you?  You’ve ruined my gift by rewarding it.”

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Doing right is its own memorable reward, as those who do wrong will discover.  Doing right is its own beautiful reward.  

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While visiting our grandchildren the other week, we talked over breakfast about how the sun doesn’t move to give us sunshine, but how the earth rotates toward the dawn.  The sun is fixed.  We, from darkness, move into the light.